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. M j mm ; Vol. 43, No. 30 U U UEbER STATE COllEqE Iff Friday, February 11, 1983 j f I At look back at Watergate "N.S ft . I A V John Dean, former Nixon aide and author of "Blind Ambition" and "Lost Black History to be honored by Cherilyn Kawa Staff Reporter A week of activities has been planned by the Black Scholars United of Weber State College to celebrate the nationwide "Black Awareness Month." Kicking off the week will be a Valentine's Day dance sponsored byCal-Funk-Shun and BSU being held in the Union Building Ballroom. "Welcome to the Club" is the theme of the event going on from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cost is $2 for singles and $3 per couple. A BSU mass meeting will be held Tuesday with members attending from WSC, University of Utah and Utah State. According to Yvette Kennedy, BSU treasurer, this will give BSU members the opportunity to exchange ideas with other schools and get closer to one another. "Blacks in Utah," will be shown Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Union Building, room 347. Reflections of the film will be given by Gene Sessions, WSC instructor in black history. Senior citizens and those who have helped senior citizens will be honored at a special luncheon Thursday in the Skyroom. A fashion show and disco dance will be held Friday night from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Union Building Ballrooms Concluding the week will be a gospel musical in the Allred Theater at 4 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the events. Honor," speaker. Photo by Rodney Wnghl was Thurday s convocation Dean addresses WSC by Lisa Wright Managing Editor "1 feel rather awkward taking about Watergate," John Dean declared at the onset of the noon convocation Thursday. "It's like the man who married the prostitute. He knew what to do, but he needed a way to make it interesting." Dean, a former Nixon aide, shared with the small audience in the Austad Auditorium his insight into the turbulent Watergate era and its painful aftermath. According to Dean, Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter all lost the presidency because of Watergate. "After Watergate the press felt that they had been misled and assumed that the president or his staff was doing something wrong, until he could prove to them otherwise". Dean said. v V 4 mm mmmmmp He also commented that one of the reasons Carter lost was that, throughout his administration, the press was looking for scandals. First they tried to tie Carter into wrongdoing with Burt Lance, then implications were made that Carter aides were snorting coke and passing out Quaaludes to others in the White House. About the time of the election Carter ran into some trouble with Billy and the Libyans. Combating this type of press allegation becomes an all-consuming task for the a president, Dean explained. Dean said he often hears that the Nixon Administration was doing nothing new, that presidents have always taped conversations and meetings in the Oval Office. While he admitted that other presidents (back to FDR's administration) were taping, there remains a major difference between what they did and what Nixon did. In the past, abuse was the exception to the rule. The Nixon mentality dictated that taping conversations become a standard operating procedure. "Nixon was paranoid," Dean said, then corrected himself. "No, he just felt he needed to tape conversations to protect himself." As for his own involvement in the Watergate cover-up, Dean was very candid. He admitted that he was involved and that he had rationalized what he was doing. Although he said he had the technical knowledge to be a presidential adviser, he now realizes that, at age 30, he didn't have the maturity to handle the situations he faced. Dean said that the title of his first book, "Blind Ambition," gives an indication of the reason for his downfall as a Nixon aide. Prior to speaking at the convocation, Dean said he has put Watergate behind him. He has very few speaking engagements this year and has none planned for '84. As he wrote his second book, "Lost Honor," Dean said that he was able to look at himself and the others involved in the Watergate cover-Up more critically. It was in January 1973 that he realized it might be better to go to jail than work at the White House. He said he had become a changed person, and that at night he would have to "drown himself in a bottle of scotch" in order to get to sleep. Dean commented that he didn't feel any hostility or hatred towards Nixon. "He is carrying the heaviest load of anyone, because he hasn't talked about Watergate," Dean said. Having talked openly and honestly about his involvement in the cover-up, Dean feels that he has been able to recover some of his own self esteem and deal with the shame of making such a big, and historic, mistake.

Public Domain. Courtesy of University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University.

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. M j mm ; Vol. 43, No. 30 U U UEbER STATE COllEqE Iff Friday, February 11, 1983 j f I At look back at Watergate "N.S ft . I A V John Dean, former Nixon aide and author of "Blind Ambition" and "Lost Black History to be honored by Cherilyn Kawa Staff Reporter A week of activities has been planned by the Black Scholars United of Weber State College to celebrate the nationwide "Black Awareness Month." Kicking off the week will be a Valentine's Day dance sponsored byCal-Funk-Shun and BSU being held in the Union Building Ballroom. "Welcome to the Club" is the theme of the event going on from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cost is $2 for singles and $3 per couple. A BSU mass meeting will be held Tuesday with members attending from WSC, University of Utah and Utah State. According to Yvette Kennedy, BSU treasurer, this will give BSU members the opportunity to exchange ideas with other schools and get closer to one another. "Blacks in Utah," will be shown Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Union Building, room 347. Reflections of the film will be given by Gene Sessions, WSC instructor in black history. Senior citizens and those who have helped senior citizens will be honored at a special luncheon Thursday in the Skyroom. A fashion show and disco dance will be held Friday night from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Union Building Ballrooms Concluding the week will be a gospel musical in the Allred Theater at 4 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the events. Honor," speaker. Photo by Rodney Wnghl was Thurday s convocation Dean addresses WSC by Lisa Wright Managing Editor "1 feel rather awkward taking about Watergate," John Dean declared at the onset of the noon convocation Thursday. "It's like the man who married the prostitute. He knew what to do, but he needed a way to make it interesting." Dean, a former Nixon aide, shared with the small audience in the Austad Auditorium his insight into the turbulent Watergate era and its painful aftermath. According to Dean, Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter all lost the presidency because of Watergate. "After Watergate the press felt that they had been misled and assumed that the president or his staff was doing something wrong, until he could prove to them otherwise". Dean said. v V 4 mm mmmmmp He also commented that one of the reasons Carter lost was that, throughout his administration, the press was looking for scandals. First they tried to tie Carter into wrongdoing with Burt Lance, then implications were made that Carter aides were snorting coke and passing out Quaaludes to others in the White House. About the time of the election Carter ran into some trouble with Billy and the Libyans. Combating this type of press allegation becomes an all-consuming task for the a president, Dean explained. Dean said he often hears that the Nixon Administration was doing nothing new, that presidents have always taped conversations and meetings in the Oval Office. While he admitted that other presidents (back to FDR's administration) were taping, there remains a major difference between what they did and what Nixon did. In the past, abuse was the exception to the rule. The Nixon mentality dictated that taping conversations become a standard operating procedure. "Nixon was paranoid," Dean said, then corrected himself. "No, he just felt he needed to tape conversations to protect himself." As for his own involvement in the Watergate cover-up, Dean was very candid. He admitted that he was involved and that he had rationalized what he was doing. Although he said he had the technical knowledge to be a presidential adviser, he now realizes that, at age 30, he didn't have the maturity to handle the situations he faced. Dean said that the title of his first book, "Blind Ambition," gives an indication of the reason for his downfall as a Nixon aide. Prior to speaking at the convocation, Dean said he has put Watergate behind him. He has very few speaking engagements this year and has none planned for '84. As he wrote his second book, "Lost Honor," Dean said that he was able to look at himself and the others involved in the Watergate cover-Up more critically. It was in January 1973 that he realized it might be better to go to jail than work at the White House. He said he had become a changed person, and that at night he would have to "drown himself in a bottle of scotch" in order to get to sleep. Dean commented that he didn't feel any hostility or hatred towards Nixon. "He is carrying the heaviest load of anyone, because he hasn't talked about Watergate," Dean said. Having talked openly and honestly about his involvement in the cover-up, Dean feels that he has been able to recover some of his own self esteem and deal with the shame of making such a big, and historic, mistake.